Wistful Obama faces turning 50

Listen closely to the president of the United States these days, and you will hear the creaks and groans of an American male nearing the midcentury mark.

Barack Obama will turn 50 just a few months from now, on August 4 — a milestone that already seems to be shadowing the presidential mood. In recent speeches, references to the burdens of office are woven constantly with references to the burdens of middle age.

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Take a look, he tells audiences, at the bags under his eyes. He sometimes mentions his daughters — racing, it seems to him, out of childhood and into adolescence. Then, invariably, he mentions his hair. Perhaps you have noticed: It is turning gray. (See: Michelle Obama: Obama doesn't dye his hair)

“We’ve been governing for 2½ years,” Obama told supporters on a conference call this month. “I don’t look that young anymore. I’m grayer, I have bags under my eyes, but that core spirit is still there.” (See: Campaign trail a gray area for Obama)

The same refrain was heard last week in Chicago, at back-to-back fundraisers at which Obama repeated himself in nearly identical language. “You know, your candidate is a little grayer now,” he told supporters. “Some of the excitement of something entirely new is not going to be there, and I’ve got some dents and dings in the fender. But that vision hasn’t changed. What we care about hasn’t changed. Our commitments should not have changed.” (See: Barack Obama kicks off 2012 campaign in Chicago)

The autumnal notes in Obama’s stump speech suggest that an older-but-wiser motif is going to be an important part of his public persona this year, as he presents himself as a sensible protector of progressive values in his confrontations with congressional Republicans, and next year, as he asks voters to trust him with another four years in office.

The language apparently has its origins at least partly in Obama’s own midlife musings.

Valerie Jarrett, the White House senior aide who is closest to Obama personally, said in an interview that the trend began with spontaneous references to graying hair and the challenges of public life that cropped up in private settings, or in impromptu comments to audiences. (See: Obama '12: Same cast, different story)

Over time, she said, presidential speechwriters began inserting the language into his formal remarks.

Jarrett said Obama is not brooding about his lot in life, much less facing the stereotypical male midlife crisis — no chance he’ll be trading in the black limousine for a red Corvette in the presidential motorcade. Obama, his friend said, is simply sharing natural ruminations that might strike anyone approaching age 50.

“It’s not weighing on him — he’s very comfortable with the stage of life that he’s in,” Jarrett told POLITICO. “He shares it in a very lighthearted way. It’s just a reality. It’s a common feeling that many men and women of his age experience as life moves on.”

Obama’s two baby boomer predecessors certainly wrestled with the process.

Before former President George W. Bush returned to Texas in 2008, he told reporters that when he looked in the mirror, “I’m not going to regret what I see — except maybe some gray hair.”

Tony Fratto, who served as Bush’s deputy press secretary, said age didn’t faze Bush. Presidents, he added, “can’t hide anything (about aging) so they get fatalistic about it.”

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CORRECTION: Corrected by: Andie Coller @ 04/19/2011 10:04 AM
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the age difference between President Obama and Mitt Romney. Romney is 14 years older.